It is a tantalizing thought as potential buyers line up to acquire the team from Frank McCourt out of federal bankruptcy court: a former manager of the team as its part owner and maybe even its president. At 71, you would not expect Torre to manage again or become a general manager.

“I’m not part of any group,” he said by telephone Tuesday afternoon. “But I’ll tell you there’ve been a number of people who’ve reached out and inquired, but I’ve made no alliance, no commitment, as of this minute.”

Could his situation change in a month? “Who knows?” he said. “It’s certainly something you’d have an interest in.” But he repeated that he is not a part of a group, at least not now.

He could become part of one soon. He has been approached by Rick Caruso, a Los Angeles-based real estate developer best known for creating the Grove, a retail, dining and entertainment center adjacent to the Farmers Market, according to one person briefed on the process but who was not authorized to speak publicly and who spoke after Torre was interviewed.

Caruso, president of Caruso Affiliated, has also been a member of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission and president of the Los Angeles Police Commission and is considering running for mayor of the city in 2013. Charles Sipkins, a spokesman for Caruso, declined to comment.

Torre could not immediately be reached to talk about Caruso.

If Torre becomes a part of Caruso’s — or anyone’s — group, he would have to resign as Major League Baseball’s executive vice president for baseball operations, a job he has held since February. If his group were to lose its bid, he could possibly return to M.L.B.

Photo

Joe Torre, who formerly managed the Dodgers, is currently M.L.B.'s executive vice president for baseball operations.Credit
Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

Torre would probably add cachet to a group as a four-time World Series-winning manager, and an insider who is one of Commissioner Bud Selig’s top lieutenants. Torre, who resigned in 2007 after 12 seasons as the Yankees’ manager to manage the Dodgers for McCourt for nearly three years, would fit snugly into the growing roster of possible suitors.

Peter O’Malley, whose family owned the Dodgers for 47 years, is a declared candidate.

So is Fred Claire, a former general manager.

Two former Dodgers, Orel Hershiser and Steve Garvey, have voiced desires to be parts of groups.

Then there are the superrich suitors, like Thomas Golisano, the former Buffalo Sabres owner, who said he would buy the team without any partners; the high-profile investor Ron Burkle; the philanthropist Eli Broad; and potentially many others, like Magic Johnson. The judge overseeing the bankruptcy of the Dodgers still must agree to the process of selling the Dodgers that McCourt and M.L.B. agreed to.

In emphasizing that he is not currently a part of a group, Torre said, “What is true is that a number of people I know — people who were directed to me — have sort of felt me out on my interest, and that’s all I can say.”

He said that some of the people who have contacted him were connected to people with the necessary finances to buy the Dodgers. The team will most likely sell for at least $1 billion.

“At this point, nothing is happening,” he said. Would he want to return to the Dodgers as a part owner? “I don’t know,” he said. “I really don’t. I like what I’m doing here.”

Torre, his wife, Ali, and their daughter, Andrea, stayed in Los Angeles after he resigned from the Dodgers with three weeks left in the 2010 season. He said they planned to stay until Andrea, a high school sophomore, graduated. Then they would return to their home in Westchester County, N.Y.

But if he is part of the winning bid for the Dodgers, his stay in Los Angeles could be extended indefinitely.

A version of this article appears in print on November 23, 2011, on page B17 of the New York edition with the headline: Torre Draws Inquiries From Suitors For Dodgers. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe